HPP's trip to California this past January was very productive, as we were able to host the largest Pavement Pounders Shootout thus far. Our coverage this month once again gives us an eclectic group of Pontiac racers whose approach to going fast in Firebirds ranges from LS1 power to turbo V-6 motivation, a 9-second bracket car, and an NHRA Super Stocker. If that's not enough, there's even a traditional Pontiac-powered GTO street machine thrown in.
As mentioned last month, we were blessed with perfect weather at Los Angeles County Raceway in Palmdale, California, in the midst of some horrendous storms and landslides. The skies cleared and the temperature was in the 70s.
We were pleased to have Todd Smith with his '02 WS6 Trans Am, Ken Burge and his '89 20th Anniversary Indy Pace Car Trans Am, Ken "Ace" Brewer with his "just out of mothballs" '75 Trans Am, Joel Larkin, driving Pete McCarthy's '67 Super Stock Firebird 400, and Bill Baker and his very clean '69 GTO. Would Baker's Goat be able to fend off Smith's thumping LS1 or Burge's force-fed V-6? Would any low-12-second cars become high-11-second stars? Would Larkin's scienced-out 400 be able to cover Brewer's hibernating beast? Grab a chair, hang up the cell phone--it's all here for your reading pleasure.
At The Track
As mentioned last month, one could hardly complain about the weather, especially for a Saturday in late January, with temperatures starting out in the mid 60s and rising into the low 70s. The combination of barometric pressure and actual elevation gave an equivalent altitude of 2,700 feet, which was excellent for this facility. Correction factors were 0.9679 for e.t. and 1.0337 for the trap speed. The track surface at LACR was well-prepped and worked favorably for most of our competitors, though a couple cars were having trouble hooking up later in the day.
Todd Smith
The notes on Todd's Strip Tuning Log pretty much said it all: "Dead hook, no spins, all shifts with automatic clean." His '02 T/A was easily the most consistent Pontiac in this month's shootout, varying less than 0.08 second and 0.6 mph. Todd varied his launch somewhat, but the result stayed in the ballpark. His choice of tires and converter complemented each other well, and he was rewarded with some impressive and stable performances, with a best corrected run of 11.62 e.t. at 116.70 mph.
Ken Burge
Ken's '89 T/A's combination of a torquey turbo V-6 and drag radials made for a fairly tricky car to launch, and problems hooking up became evident later in the day. The loose converter made it possible to build substantial boost against the brakes. Nevertheless, Ken was able to surprise a lot of racers weaned on V-8 power, laying down in separate runs a best corrected e.t. of 12.44 and a top trap speed of 109.44 mph. By adding a set of slicks and dialing in the chassis, there is no reason this combination couldn't be in the low 12s at 110 and change. After that is accomplished, Ken could move on to some simple but significant mods. With the amount of boost and heat this turbo can generate, a larger intercooler and some additional attention to the calibrations might even have him knocking on the 11-second door--all with a stock short-block.
Ken "Ace" Brewer
As mentioned, Ace's Trans Am was on its first run down the strip after more than five years in storage. As a result, the '75 showed tons of potential, though the car's ultimate performance was hampered somewhat by some minor but significant problems that cropped up from being out of service for half a decade. His shifter was not operating correctly and he missed Second gear on his second run. On the fourth and last run, he broke a throttle linkage rod, which sidelined the car for the rest of the day. Still, the new big-bore 400 was making plenty of power, and Ace seemed to be hooking up pretty well. On the two clean runs he made, the Trans Am was consistent, with e.t.'s varying by only 0.06 and posting identical trap speeds, with a best corrected time of 9.80 at 137.48 mph. By getting the bugs worked out, Ace and his 'Bird will likely be a force to be reckoned with.
Joel Larkin
Due to some scheduling conflicts, Joel was able to make only three passes, but what we see here is the result of a well-thought-out combination that is tuned within an inch of its life. Anyone running NHRA Super Stock will need to have his act together in order to survive past the first round, and Joel was definitely there. The chassis setup made the most of the available traction, and as one can see from the 60-foots, the combination was consistent, posting a best corrected run of 10.58 at 125.11 mph. Had Joel been able to stay, we believe he would have the tightest spread between his runs. Nevertheless, we got a pretty clear view of what it takes to wade through an NHRA national event.
Bill Baker
Bill and his GTO were definitely having a good day, laying down his best run ever at LACR, a combination of the good air and the traction available that day. His first run produced his best e.t., though as the day wore on, he was not able to better the corrected 12.69 at 106.26. He eventually slowed to a corrected 12.94 at 104.50 mph, a combination of a heat-soaked engine and traction problems off the line. An extended cooldown period did the trick, as he laid down an identical corrected 12.69 at a slightly higher 106.57 mph. By managing the situation as it developed, Bill was able to set a personal record.
Conclusion
As we reported last month, our West Coast shootout was a great opportunity to see how winter drag racing is done. The cars were all impressive, and the hospitality was great. Once again, a big "thank you" to Dave Anderson and Pontiac Drag Days, as well as LACR owner Bernie Longjohn for their help making this shootout happen. We'll continue next month with six more racers from our January shootout.